Some Las Vegas Memorial Day observances absent, but others carry on

Las Vegas Review-Journal

4 years ago

Normally held on Memorial Day weekend, Tonopah's annual Jim Butler Days event has been reschedu ... — Normally held on Memorial Day weekend, Tonopah’s annual Jim Butler Days event has been rescheduled for Labor Day weekend due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to organizers. (Jeff Meehan/Pahrump Valley Times)

Lake Mead Marina at Sunset. Holiday visitors can expect to find busy launch ramps over the busy Memorial Day weekend. (Doug Nielsen/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Baron Petersen, 10, helps to gather flags following a Memorial Day ceremony at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Monday, May 27, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Tributes to fallen U.S. armed service members in the Las Vegas Valley on Memorial Day weekend will be different this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Volunteers who usually gather by the hundreds on the Saturday before Memorial Day to place flags at gravesites at the Southern Nevada Veterans Cemetery in Boulder City will not be doing so. Nor will there be an annual wreath-laying ceremony on Monday.

Instead, the state’s Department of Veterans Services announced it will upload two videos of Memorial Day ceremonies from each cemetery, in Boulder City and Fernley. The videos will be posted on the agency’s veterans.nv.gov website sometime before Monday for viewing at home.

Each cemetery will be open all weekend, but visitors are encouraged to wear masks and are required to practice social distancing.

Despite the cancellations, there will still be opportunities to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Here are some of them:

Friday

— Staff and volunteers with the Kline Fund, a nonprofit that assists needy veterans, will be placing flags on graves at Bunker’s Eden Vale Cemetery on 1216 Las Vegas Blvd. North at 9 a.m.

Monday

— 9 a.m., American Legion Paradise Post 149 will leave for a Memorial Day motorcycle ride, starting at the Leatherneck Club at 4360 Spring Mountain Road to the Southern Nevada Veterans Cemetery in Boulder City.

— 9:30 a.m. American Legion Post 76 will host a short ceremony at Lake Sahara South Park at 3310 Lake South Drive in The Lakes.

— 10 a.m. At Skye Center, 10111 W. Skye Canyon Park Drive, cars will line up for a patriotic Memorial parade.

— 12 p.m. Classic cars and other vehicles will participate in “Hot Rods for Heroes” by cruising the Strip, starting at the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard at the Premium Outlet Mall.

— 12:30 p.m. A community Memorial Day motorcycle parade will start at Foothills Southern Baptist Church at 6405 W. Cheyenne Ave.

— 8:15 p.m. The annual Southern Highlands Community Fireworks show will proceed with social distancing encouraged. The fireworks will be shot from the hilltop at Olympia Sports Park, 4885 Starr Hills Ave. While the park is closed, the fireworks will be shot higher than usual to improve viewability.

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.